Project Team

Funding Period

May 2011 to June 2015

Health Care Reform & Treatment Integration

Kern County Project CARE Evaluation

In 2011, California’s Kern County contracted with UCLA ISAP to provide evaluation, training, and technical assistance services for Project Care, which aims to integrate substance use and mental health services into primary care settings. UCLA’s work with Kern County’s Project Care fell into two broad categories: (1) general integration activities, training, and technical assistance, and (2) measures of integration. After three years of implementation, ongoing technical assistance, and evaluation, UCLA and Project Care participants have identified some important lessons about the integration of behavioral health in primary care settings. These may be useful to stakeholders at various levels (e.g., state, county, health centers, individual service providers) in planning, implementing, and evaluating integrated care. In addition, participants in Project Care have improved or maintained their previous progress in developing and providing integrated behavioral health care.

Kern County Project CARE Evaluation was funded by Kern County, contracts 241-2011, 400-2011, 566-2012, 660-2014, from May 2011 to June 2015.

Funding Period

The purpose of this project is to provide evaluation, training, and technical assistance (ETTA) for substance use service integration activities within the health care system of California. Over the next 3 years, ISAP will provide the following:

Examine how ongoing policy changes are affecting who receives substance use disorders (SUDs) treatment and how access, services, costs, and quality of care are being affected. Make recommendations to improve policies, practices, and data quality.

Refine program performance and patient outcome measures.

Collect and disseminate cutting-edge information on the integration of SUD services with mental health and primary care services.

Recommend strategic planning principles to guide the development of an integrated drug treatment delivery system in California in the context of health care reform.

Coordinate and facilitate an interactive forum (Learning Collaborative) with county administrators and other key stakeholders to discuss SUD integration.

Conduct Case Study/Pilot Evaluations.

Provide training at the county level on strategies to prepare for health care reform.

Provide technical assistance at the county level to facilitate integration following the implementation of major health care reforms in 2014.

Evaluation, Training, and Technical Assistance for Substance Use DisorderServices Integration was funded by the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs, contract 12-00117, from July 2012 to June 2015.